Putin's troops amass on North Korea border

Photos captured some of the troops patrolling the top of Zaozyonara Hill, a meeting point between Russia, North Korea and China

Russian border guards on patrol on the top of Zaozyornaya Hill at the Khasan crossing point on the Russian-North Korean border in the tri-border area where the boundaries of Russia, China and North Korea meet

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Moscow has previously denied moved more troops to the border area as tensions between the US and Kim’s regime reach boiling point.

Earlier this year, the movement of heavy weaponry towards the border was also caught on camera.

Frants Klintsevich, the first deputy chairman of the Russian upper house's Committee on Defence and Security, has warned that any US action against North Korea would also be seen as a hostility towards Russia due to their shared border.

YURI SMITYUK/TASS

Vladimir Putin is building up his military

President Putin has indicated that the world will have to accept a nuclear armed North Korea, warning the rogue nation would rather “eat grass” than go without weapons.

And the new military build-up comes after Russia launched an inter-continental ballistic missile last night.

That action, in the south-western Russian region of Astrakhan, came after weeks of arguments over controversial military drills in Europe.

Russia has also carried out a number of maneouvres with China in recent weeks.

YURI SMITYUK/TASS

Tensions are building on the North Korea border

Military experts believe the country is trying to show off its military might amid simmering tensions over the Korean peninsula.

Chatham House claimed the drills shows Russia was practicing war scenarios involving NATO troops in the event of a conflict or land grab.

It comes as North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Monday accused the US President of declaring war on the secretive state.

Ri threatened that Pyongyang would shoot down US warplanes flying near the Korean Peninsula after American bombers travelled close to it last Saturday.

The North Korean minister was reacting to Mr Trump's Twitter comments that Kim and Ri "won't be around much longer" if they acted on their threats toward the United States.

Mr Trump said yesterday that any US military option would be “devastating” for the country but claimed he preferred not to use force.

He said: “If we take that option, it will be devastating, I can tell you that, devastating for North Korea.

“That's called the military option. If we have to take it, we will.”

The US says satellite imagery has also detected a number of North Korean military aircraft moving to the North's east coast.